Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun eats $6.2 million banana artwork in Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun made good on a promise by eating a banana that was part of an artwork valued at $6.2 million. The artwork, titled “Comedian,” created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, features a banana duct-taped to a wall and was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York just last week, where Sun was one of seven bidders.

In a dramatic display at one of Hong Kong’s most luxurious hotels, Sun bit into the banana in front of a crowd of journalists and influencers and gave a speech in which he hailed the piece as “iconic” and drew comparisons between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

“It’s much better than other bananas,” Sun said after a bite. “It’s quite good.”

Sun shared that after winning the auction, he initially felt “disbelief” but quickly realised that the artwork could become much bigger. He then decided to eat the banana, believing that consuming it at a press conference could add to the artwork’s historical significance.

“Eating it at a press conference can also become a part of the artwork’s history,” Sun explained.

The controversial piece, which first debuted at the 2019 Art Basel show in Miami Beach, sparked debates about whether it should truly be considered art. Cattelan, the artist behind the piece, has previously stated that the work aimed to challenge tradition.

On Friday, Sun also compared conceptual art like “Comedian” to the world of NFT art and decentralised blockchain technology. He pointed out that conceptual art and digital creations like NFTs primarily exist as intellectual property or online content, rather than physical objects.